Katherine Jenerette on why the 17th Amendment needs to be repealed..
Katherine Jenerette is a Constitutional Originalist and argues that the 17th Amendment adopted in 1913 needs to be repealed.
States all over the country are busy with resolutions of State Sovereignty and 10th Amendment resolutions that have no legislative teeth and do little more than invite legal battles with the Federal Government.
“What they seem to ignore is that the States had a voice in the Congress that was present for 126 years until 1913 when the basic structure of the Government was changed – coincidentally the same years that the Federal Government imposed an income tax on the people with the 16th Amendment,” Jenerette said.
“The year 1913 was a clear power grab banner year for the Neo-Federalist who are the role models for the present Administration in Washington in 2010.”
The danger was clearly stated in 1788 by a Federalist in the Federalist papers No. 51 by Madison - "In a republican form of government the legislative branch is the strongest, and therefore must be divided into different branches, be as little connected with each other as possible, and render them by different modes of election."
Prior to the 17th Amendment, the U.S. House was chosen directly by the people, while the Senate was chosen by state legislatures. Under the original structure of the Federal Government both the States had a loud voice and the people had a loud voice in the Congress.
"The government is guarded from usurpations because it is divided into DISTINCT and SEPARATE departments." – Madison.
Jenerette went on to say, “If my critics say that the repeal of the 17th Amendment is wrong then at least part of their argument is with the Founding Fathers and the Constitution as it was originally written and followed for 126 years.”
If the founding fathers had it right in 1787 then Katherine Jenerette has it right in 2010 - the states need to take back their Senators.